Awakening
by ilovejessssss
Summary: My version of season 6. Billith is the least of their problems, and Eric and Sookie will finally have a much needed conversation. Rated M for eventual lemons, violence, and language.
1. Chapter 1

Salome spoke softly, "Lillith chose well." She looked up at Bill with an air of expectation and acceptance, even as blood pooled softly from her open mouth. Bill then savagely pierced the stake through her heart, and she burst into a pile of bloody remains.

Bill relished his victory. Having defeated Salome and been declared to be Lillith's 'chosen one,' in spite of Salome's far superior age and experience, gave him a strong surge of confidence and adrenaline. Bill chose to manipulate Salome for his own ends, as a result of his own ambition. No one could deny his intelligence and autonomy after this. Bill had not come out on top as a result of being a puppet for a monarch, as in the case of Sophie Anne, nor was it due to self-preservation. It was a result of his growing lust for power that he barely understood himself.

After Bill stood and lightly brushed himself off, indifferent to the small chunks of Salome still embedded in his sweater, he was finally able to give Lillith's blood the full attention he felt it deserved. Right as he was about to uncork it, the doors to the suite burst open dramatically.

Eric, not due to a lack of breath but due to gratitude at having found Bill alone, heaved a sigh as he crossed the threshold. His blonde hair was slightly ruffled and his eyes were intense and serious. He did not appear to be driven by the same thirst for vengeance or hunger for retribution that typically characterized him. For nearly the past thousand years, Eric could be essentially described as a vampire who lived for the thrill of the hunt. All that drove him was his commitment to the value that his human culture placed upon loyalty. After he finally killed Russell though, his most prominent emotion was a mix of satisfaction and surprisingly, relief. This was likely because Eric had never been afraid of death until he met a certain blonde telepath.

It wasn't just her decadent fae scent that so reminded him of wheat, honey and sunlight, or her soft and supple curves that drew Eric to her like a moth to a flame, though. Nor was it simply her gentle and intelligent light brown eyes and that saw through his façade of indifference. It wasn't even her stubbornly held Southern sense of manners and morality, even after he had kissed and licked every inch of her, that drew Eric to Sookie.

It was her constant, unwavering ability to forgive and to see the good in others, no matter how horribly they had treated her. It was her ability to see the light in him, even after centuries of his having perfected the art of acting to better his chances of survival. It was because she made him question the purpose of just existing and retaliating in the first place. She gave him meaning and purpose aside from his quest to kill Russell and avenge his human family.

That was why his entire demeanor towards Bill was unusual to witness in light of his traditional response to such life altering situations. He was not afraid to die, but he was afraid that Sookie would. He was afraid that she would be harmed, and that he would be unable to protect her. Not even just from physical pain, but from the emotional pain that he knew Bill was capable of inflicting.

Eric was broken out of his reverie when he heard Sookie cut Bill off. "This isn't you." Bill responded with surprising rapidity,

"What the fuck do you know about me? How do you know everything I did wasn't an act? Calculated in order to elicit a particular response." While he was speaking Eric looked at her in surprise, almost as if he felt her shock and pain at what Bill is saying so harshly and without hesitation.

Sookie shakily answered, "I know that's not true."

With a cruel smile Bill advanced towards her. "Why, because of the light you bear? Have you ever considered that it is a handicap? One that blinds you to the most obvious of truths: that you are an abomination, as the Vampire Bible states."

Each words Bill stated had Sookie feeling more emotionally winded by the second. Combined with her self-loathing due to Tara's turning and loneliness after Eric and Bill disappeared, his words were almost too much for her to bear, and Eric felt as much in their bond.

Eric was quickly reminded of why he loved her as much as he did however, as she gathered her courage and inner strength without letting a beat pass. She brushed past his protective stance, pushing him back gently as if it was a natural gesture between them.

"You are better than this Bill," Sookie cried with feeling. "You are capable of kindness, and sympathy, and generosity. You are unique among all the vampires I have met. Don't throw that away!"

Sookie, gazing directly into Bill's cold and unfeeling eyes, was anxious to pull him back from the abyss she saw he was lost to, and into the man she once loved. She was oblivious to Eric's slight flinch of pain that her speech caused. A taste of bitterness filled Eric's mouth, as he thought of how Bill's false clinging to his humanity painted him in a better light to Sookie than Eric's innate sense of duty and honor ever could.

Bill quietly but passionately explained, "I have spent my entire life as a vampire apologizing. Believing I was inherently wrong somehow. Living in fear. Fear that God had forsaken me, that I was damned. But Lillith grants freedom from fear. Virsisitudes 3:24 'Fear not, for my blood is beyond fear. Fear of sin, fear of mankind, fear of retribution. For thou are begat by God, and this world is but a spring to slate thy sacred thirst.'"

Sookie inhaled deeply and begged, "If I ever meant anything to you at all -" Bill cut her off,

"I told you the first night we met. Vampires often turn on those they love the most."

Before anyone could stop him, Bill quickly downed the entire vial of Lillith's blood.

Eric and Sookie watched in horror as Bill instantly began to vomit and cry tears of thick, dark blood. Eric quickly moved in front of Sookie protectively, at the same moment that Bill's body burst into liquid red. Sookie choked back a sob and unthinkingly sought the comfort of Eric's arms. Eric kissed the top of her head almost naturally, but didn't take is eyes off of the bloody puddle that was once Bill Compton.

The liquid began to tremble, causing Eric to whisper "Sookie," not quite believing what he was seeing. She turned and they watched in horror as Bill's naked body slowly emerged from the blood.

"Fuck." Sookie swore, still too numb to truly react.

Bill's fangs extended at the same time that a vicious growl erupted from his throat. Eric screamed "RUN," and Sookie bolted away in terror.

Blinded by tears and adrenaline, Sookie ran from the monster Bill had become. She reached the elevator and pressed the button desperately, looking over her shoulder for Eric.

Eric and Bill moved too quickly for her eyes to follow. She willed her light to come to her fingertips to help her protect Eric, but all she was able to conjure was slight bursts of static electricity. She pressed the elevator button repeatedly, trying to remember if she had seen any obvious route to the stairwells at the sides of the building.

Suddenly, Eric and Bill become visible. It is complete déjà vu, as Bill stands over Eric holding a stake in almost exactly the same position that they had been, only reversed when Eric had amnesia. They lock eyes, and Sookie is overwhelmed by a need to protect Eric, far greater than she experienced when saving Bill`s life. It was something she felt in her blood. If Eric died she inexplicably felt it would be her end as well, and her heart felt ready to burst at the sudden realization of his mortality.

"NO MORE" Sookie cried with conviction, shooting Bill with the most powerful conduit of light that she had ever produced. It hit him squarely in the chest, and this time when Bill dissolved into nothing but crimson, she somehow knew that it was for good. Sookie suddenly felt as though all energy had completely abandoned her body. Barely able to stay standing, she stumbled into the wall behind her.

Eric, still on his back on the stone floor, supported himself with his forearms and leveled Sookie with an intense gaze. She gulped but was unable to look away from his dark blue eyes, so unreadable but so undeniably hungry.

Thankfully, before Sookie could stutter something incomprehensible and embarrass herself, Jason burst out of the elevator that had finally arrived. He quickly enveloped her in a hug, and told her, "Everything is gonna be alright Sook. You're safe now."

Sookie hugged Jason tightly and closed her eyes. When she opened them she saw Eric and Nora in a similar embrace. Eric's eyes met hers with guarded curiosity, and Sookie couldn't help but look away this time.

They drove back in near silence, aside from the sound of Jessica's light sobbing. Bill's death and having been rejected by Jason in the same night had her reverting back into the seventeen year old girl she had been before she was turned.

Sookie patted her arm soothingly. "There there, Jess. It's okay. You can stay in the cubby tonight if you don't wanna be alone –"

"Absolutely not." Eric cut her off.

Sookie felt a familiar but not unwelcome twinge of annoyance at Eric's intrusive behavior. "Like hell she's not. What business of it is yours?"

"It's my house. And we have much to discuss," Eric replied, his face an unreadable mask as he looked only at the road and focused on driving.

"But Eric," interrupted Nora, "We have to meet with the AVL to do damage control -"

"Fuck the AVL. Fuck the Authority. I am done with these false regimes dictating my behavior I have neglected business in my area for far too long which needs to be attended to, and that's final."

Nora looked as though she wanted to argue further, but she quickly bit her tongue after receiving a pointed look from Pam. She shot Sookie a glare and sharply turned her head to look out the window. Sookie sighed. Apparently finishing the night with a hot bath while drinking the rest of her peach schnapps wasn't going to be an option.


	2. Chapter 2

As Sookie sat staring out the window, she partially realized that she was in shock. When she had snapped at Eric for refusing Jessica access to the cubby, she had done so more based upon her instinct to guard herself from Eric and to defy him than anything else. Eric's being overly bossy was almost the only normal thing she could still count on in the sea of chaos that had become her life since the moment she met Bill, and inevitably Eric through him.

The part of Sookie that realized she was in shock acknowledged that this was due to her primary feelings being completely contradictory to one another. She didn't know how to make sense of how she truly felt.

The emotion at the forefront of her mind was relief at the fact that Bill was gone, as he had triggered so much of the recent tragedy in her life. Her gran's death had been due to her association with him, her inability to open her heart again was largely caused by his betrayal; having her nearly beaten to death to get his blood into her when they first met, nearly raping her and draining her in the back of a van. Now that he was gone for good their blood-tie was completely severed, and it was finally providing Sookie with some much needed perspective.

She could now clearly see that she had largely come to question her feelings for Eric because of residual feelings for Bill, which re-ignited after she was shot during the battle with the witches. The more she thought about it, the more she began to question the fact that she was shot in the first place, since Bill's squad was the only side of the battle that was using guns. And the fact that he had taken the first opportunity to get his blood back into her after this was more than a little unsettling.

Now that the blood tie was gone she was also feeling a mixture of shame, anger, and sorrow. Had their entire relationship truly been a lie? She had told him that she knew what they had was real, but that was around the time she had been force fed his blood. On the other hand, he had been her first everything – her first love, her first sexual experience, her first real partner. She was embarrassed of how naïve she had acted, angry at Bill for all he had put her through, and ashamed of the fact that she didn't regret killing him, the same way she was ashamed at her desire to kill Debbie even while she still had a choice.

The fact that she had even conjured up the magic to save Eric despite her conflicted feelings for Bill at the time, coupled with Bill's transformation into Lillith and the magic of the blood, was completely mind boggling. The more she thought about it, the more she realized the difference in the influence of Eric's blood – and it was because their exchange was mutual. The first time she was deceived into drinking his blood in Dallas occurred too long ago and was in too small a quantity to truly account for her feelings for him, which increased tenfold now that Bill's blood was out of her system. Sookie felt so much regret that she was desperate to let Eric know somehow that she was no longer conflicted, and that it wasn't because Bill was no longer an option but because she had finally had a moment of insight that allowed her to feel her true feelings wholly.

She tried to send all of the love she felt to Eric with her fairy magic, to heal the damage she had done by leaving him. She focussed on the love she felt between them in what she assumed was the blood bond that she felt within her core. The moment it began to transfer though, Sookie gasped and was suddenly completely zapped. Where was her fairy energy now? Did it not work because of Eric's vampire essence that inherently opposed her fae instincts? Whatever it was, Sookie felt physically and emotionally drained, to the point where she had become completely numb.

Eric sympathised with Jessica. Not only had her bond with her maker just been extinguished, but their relationship had already recently been strained when he brought her to the authority and forcibly asserted his dominance over her. Eric had gone through similar experiences with Godric, and though he believed their bond had run much deeper due to having had centuries longer to be established, he understood Jessica's pain.

That was why he decided to have Pam and Nora keep an eye on her, as he believed Jessica was lacking the influence of intelligent and powerful older vampires due to Bill's neglect. He also had to admit his desire was partly due to anxiety and selfishness – anxiety over Sookie being alone and vulnerable to a younger vampire who had just been very emotionally shaken, and selfishness in his desire to disallow any other vampire the use of his cubby, their once sacred space. He could have sworn that he felt his heart clench and perhaps even beat again for the first time in over 1000 years at the thought, but he quickly dismissed it, unable to forget the desperation in Sookie's voice when she pleaded with Bill that he was unique among all the vampires she had met.

After dropping Pam, Tara, Nora and Jessica off at Fangtasia, Jason refused to leave Sookie's side. He was adamant about spending the night in Gran's home to protect her, and so when they stopped at Jason's home for him to grab a few necessities, Eric made a point to exit the car to 'help' him by glamouring him to stay put and come by first thing in the morning instead.

Eric was surprised that Sookie wasn't more resistant to his obvious dictation over the way the rest of the night unfolded. She wasn't even keenly aware enough to notice Jason's slightly duller eyes and complete change in attitude. Eric probed their bond and was extremely surprised to feel nothing. Sookie's emotions were spent, and her near emptiness and complacent attitude worried him far more than when she was screaming bloody murder at him, chained up in his basement.

~*~

"Sookie?" Eric gently probed, his eyes seeking the review mirror to look at her as they nearly reached the farmhouse.

"Sookie."

"Yes?" She replied, half-dazed and seemingly disoriented and unaware of her surroundings.

"We're almost at your house. Are you alright?"

Sookie didn't reply, so Eric didn't question her further. He pulled up the gravel driveway slowly, and turned off the car when they came to a stop. When Sookie didn't immediately move, Eric was out of the car and at Sookie's side in vamp speed, unbuckling her seatbelt with his arm around her. She allowed herself to be led, and he grit his teeth in annoyance. This was so unlike the Sookie he knew, so without her usual fire, he didn't understand.

When they stepped inside Eric inhaled deeply to scent who had been their recently. He didn't smell anything out of the ordinary, so he turned his attention directly to Sookie. She had gone into the kitchen and turned on the kettle to make a pot of tea, with her back to him.

He pulled the stack of papers he had brought with him out of his jacket pocket and placed them on the table. When she turned around she looked at him expectantly, but he could tell that for the most part she was detached.

"I brought you the deeds to your house back. All you have to do is sign the lines indicated by the x's on the sheet."

Sookie merely nodded in response, walking over and signing sloppily with a shaking hand.

"Are you alri-"

Eric was cut off when the last line was finally signed by Sookie. Invisible magic forced him out of what was now her home without an explicit invitation. He was about to demand that she allow him to come back in, when he saw her collapse to the floor. Her decadent scent filled the air and Eric quickly registered that she had hit her head and her coveted blood was now dripping from the open wound.

Eric roared,

"SOOKIE!"


	3. Chapter 3

Eric fought uselessly against the invisible barrier that kept him from entering Sookie's home. His fangs unintentionally snapped down due to the succulent scent of Sookie's blood wafting through the air, and they glinted in the moonlight.

Suddenly, a flash of light temporarily blinded him, and with a loud 'pop' three beautiful figures appeared by Sookie's side. Two were female and another was male. Eric began to growl at the sight of the male fairy approaching Sookie, and one of the females quickly moved to block his view. Her hands lit up and she spoke in a menacing tone, "Stay back vampire." It may have been a trick of the flickering shadows being cast by the moonlight, but Eric could have sworn he saw a sinister darkness cross her face. Her true ugliness marred her lovely features before she promptly slammed the door in his face.

Eric swore in anger and began to pace on the porch, extremely close to acting on his initial impulse to simply tear Sookie's home apart, to take it down brick by brick until he could get to her. His decision was made for him when he suddenly felt a profound absence where his beating heart should have been, as if his very soul was being emptied of all the love and light that was Sookie's essence. Eric felt strangely empty, and he recognized it as the sensation he experienced when Sookie had been gone for a year in the land of faerie. He sank to his knees and howled in frustration, and threw his head back in anguish.

~*~*~

Sookie had the strangest sensation of being under water. Her mind felt muddled and she was unable to identify where she was or whether or not she was awake or dreaming.

"Sleep Sookie. You need rest. Everything will be alright. Shhhh"

Instead of soothing her as the speaker intended, these words sent Sookie into an internal panic. She realized she was not dreaming but very much awake. She did not recognize this voice, though she could tell it was female and dripping with insincerity. She fought her instinct to open her eyes and instead focussed on breathing evenly to maintain the façade of sleep.

Sookie didn't need to dip into the mind of the speaker to know whether or not their intentions were good. She recognized the mental signature, it was Queen Mab, and Sookie knew she was in trouble.

Sookie's head was no longer throbbing, and she was concerned by the fact that she felt the warmth of the sun on her bare skin which contrasted with the cool feel of silk on her breasts and thighs. She knew she had recently been wearing a cozy sweater and jeans. The last thing she remembered was signing the document that returned the house to her name. She was not simply in the night club hooligans, she was in the actual land of faerie where time worked dramatically differently.

Although she knew she should be thinking of ways to escape, she couldn't avoid her throbbing heart at the thought of what Eric's reaction must have been, and how long she had likely already been kept apart from him. She wondered what else he had wanted to say to her after he'd returned her house. She knew if she had not suddenly felt so weak she would have told him what was in her heart, and about the epiphany she had finally reached once Bill was out of the picture for good and his blood was no longer influencing her.

Sookie still felt physically weak, but less so now that she was out of the human realm. She heard footsteps approaching and again heard Mab's sickeningly sweet voice, "Claudette, how nice of you to finally join us. Please keep an eye on Sookie here while I go and speak with an old… friend of mine about how this contract is going to play out."

After a few beats of silence Sookie realized they must have been communicating telepathically to deliberately keep her from hearing. She was too afraid to try and probe their minds in case they realized she was conscious, so she instead tried to only listen to the sounds of the birds and the running water somewhere close by.

She had to make a great effort not to noticeably cringe when she felt a hand smooth her hair away from her face. She felt a sudden presence enter her mind, and knew that Claudette was deliberately trying to mentally speak to her.

"I am so sorry for having to do this, sister. The reason your magic has been failing you is because of the bond you formed with your vampire. Due to the contract with Warlow, we could not allow for you to complete the second or third blood exchange. Your magic is not intrinsically failing, instead we have been stifling it. I know it seems unfair but it is for the good of all of our people, surely you understand that? Once we break the bond between you and your vampire, and you are attached to your proper mate you should begin to feel your normal energy return. Do not be afraid, he agreed in the contract not to drain you, instead you will be attached to him in the way you and your former mate were. Warlow is superior in age and strength to the vampire you insist on pursuing, please do not allow your lust to blind you. You will be able to walk for a millennia at his side, if you choose to be cooperative. In time, you will surely see that all of this will work out for the best. We love you dear sister, do not be afraid..."

Sookie had to choke back a sob at this point, and felt physically ill due to her supposed family's betrayal. How could they rob her of choice? And force her to break her bond with Eric? She would not allow for it.

Perhaps it was the same determination that sparked within her at seeing Eric at Bill's mercy. It might have been simply the knowledge that her absent light was not a product of her own failure but the influence of other fairies. She simply knew with far greater certainty than she ever had before that she was capable of choosing her own destiny, and no one was going to stop her. She sat up, and to Claudettes's shock, blasted her at least ten yards away from her. Without a clear idea of where she was running, Sookie stood up on shaky legs and began to run in the direction of the river she had heard before out of pure instinct.

She heard a shriek and did not need to turn around to know that Mab had returned. It was like Deja-Vu, as Sookie began to madly dash away from the mad queen in panic. When she got to the river, she knew she had no choice but to remain and be captured or jump into the choppy waters, which appeared to be churning in reflection of the anger felt by the two opposing female fae.

With a steely resolve, Sookie turned around and faced Mab. She said to her in a voice she barely recognized as her own,

"I will not run from you, and I will not allow you to dictate my destiny. This ends now."

Mab grinned evilly and shot a blast of red light in Sookie's direction. Sookie's hands went up in defence, and created a magical barrier with a natural grace Sookie was unaware she had even possessed.

Suddenly, Sookie heard a kind male voice in her head, which she recognized as both ancient and full of genuine concern. "Jump into the river Sookie. You know what to do. That is why you ran here in the first place."

Without time to consider the consequences, Sookie turned around and dove head first into the churning and choppy waters.


End file.
